Abstract
Background: Little is known about the current oral health status of adults in Ireland. The aim of this study was to measure the oral health status of community dwelling adults aged 50 years and over in Ireland, and to compare the current status to previous surveys of oral health in adults. Methods: The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) Wave 3 provided an opportunity to assess the oral health of a subset of TILDA participants. Respondents attending for health assessments at the TILDA centre were offered an oral health examination. The World Health Organization examination criteria were used. Results: Out of the 3111 people who were offered the oral health assessment (OHA), 2525 were examined. Adults below 50 years of age (n=17) and 4 respondents whose oral health data were unavailable at time of analysis were omitted, giving a final sample of 2504 respondents. Among the OHA sample, 9.9% (249) were edentate; 11.5% (159) of females and 8% (90) of males. Of those aged 65 years and older, 15.6% were edentate compared with 40.9% in 2000-02. The mean number of teeth present in those aged 65 years or older was 14.9 for males and 14.2 for females compared with 9.9 and 7.4, respectively, in 2000-02. 56.8% of the dentate sample had 10 or more tooth contacts. The mean DMFT of those aged 50 years or more was 18.5 and the Root Caries Index (RCI) was 6.3. For adults aged 65 years and over, the mean DMFT decreased from 25.9 to 20.1 and the Root Caries Index decreased from 11.6 to 9.1, between 2000-02 and 2014-15. Conclusion: The results suggest an improvement in oral health status of community dwelling adults aged 50 years and over in Ireland as compared to the previous Irish survey of 2000-02.
Highlights
The ageing population is one of the great challenges that will confront health services in developed countries in coming years
Oral health assessment sample selection The oral health assessment (OHA) sample is a sub-sample of the respondents who attended a The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) health centre assessment at Wave 3
A total of 4309 respondents attended for the health assessment, of whom an opportunistic sample of 3111 (72.2%) were invited to have the OHA, and of these 2525 (81.1%) agreed to the assessment
Summary
The ageing population is one of the great challenges that will confront health services in developed countries in coming years. Loss of physical and cognitive function, and increasing frailty, often result in less attention to oral health and reduced access to the care that is needed to maintain oral function. Adults below 50 years of age (n=17) and 4 respondents whose oral health data were unavailable at time of analysis were omitted, giving a final sample of 2504 respondents. Among the OHA sample, 9.9% (249) were edentate; 11.5% (159) of females and 8% (90) of males Of those aged 65 years and older, 15.6% were edentate compared with 40.9% in 2000-02. Conclusion: The results suggest an improvement in oral health status version 2
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